Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (Complete)

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The standard lexicon for Biblical Hebrew, BDB organizes words according to their lexical roots. Unlike other electronic versions of BDB which are merely based upon this classic work, this edition is a true BDB, including the comparisons with other semitic languages and Scripture references.

A trio of eminent Old Testament scholars--Francis Brown, R. Driver, and Charles Briggs--spent over twenty years researching, writing, and preparing The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Since it first appeared in the early part of the twentieth century, BDB has been considered the finest and most comprehensive Hebrew lexicon available to the English-speaking student. Based upon the classic work of Wilhelm Gesenius, the “father of modern Hebrew lexicography,” BDB gives not only dictionary definitions for each word, but relates each word to its Old Testament usage and categorizes its nuances of meaning. BDB’s exhaustive coverage of Old Testament Hebrew words, as well as its unparalleled usage of cognate languages and the wealth of background sources consulted and quoted, render BDB and invaluable resource for all students of the Bible.

Reviews

One of the best ways to determine the value of a resource is determine how often one turns to that resource for information. Over the years I have used several Hebrew lexicons, both German and English, including HALOT and more recently the 7 volume work by Clines (offered by Accordance in an updated and abridged version). However, there is no lexicon of Hebrew that I have used nearly as often as BDB, and it is almost always my first port of call.

The merits of this great work are now fully established, as are some of its minor demerits which include its sometimes archaic English glosses, as well as its sometimes dubious analysis of the roots of certain Hebrew words. That said, BDB remains one of the finest ever scholarly achievements, and one would be naive to think that it is a work that can be ignored in favor of a more modern lexicon. I have found it to contain superior articles on most Hebrew words, especially on the particles. The quality of scholarship is of the highest ...

One of the best ways to determine the value of a resource is determine how often one turns to that resource for information. Over the years I have used several Hebrew lexicons, both German and English, including HALOT and more recently the 7 volume work by Clines (offered by Accordance in an updated and abridged version). However, there is no lexicon of Hebrew that I have used nearly as often as BDB, and it is almost always my first port of call.

The merits of this great work are now fully established, as are some of its minor demerits which include its sometimes archaic English glosses, as well as its sometimes dubious analysis of the roots of certain Hebrew words. That said, BDB remains one of the finest ever scholarly achievements, and one would be naive to think that it is a work that can be ignored in favor of a more modern lexicon. I have found it to contain superior articles on most Hebrew words, especially on the particles. The quality of scholarship is of the highest order. The editors created a legacy that looms large over the world of Hebrew scholarship, and which can be felt in more recent works like Clines, which is rooted in that tradition of lexica.

Most importantly, the definitions offered in BDB are extremely accurate, and unlike HALOT they do not come to the English reader via a translation from the German. The Accordance electronic edition of BDB allows a user to find the exact text one is looking for with the click of a button. The presentation its clear and well ordered. In my opinion, the Accordance module presentation is superior to the so-called ‘Enhanced BDB’ offered by Logos BIble software.